Our pond will celebrate it’s 4th birthday this July!  It seems like only yesterday that we switched on the pump for the first time and waited as the bio falls filled, and then our waterfall sprang to life!  It was quite a momentous occasion.  A little more than 2 years later, our pump, which had always run silently, began to be audible.  This grewEs wird empfohlen dringend, „shorthand“-Spiele zu vermeiden, besonders wenn man mit ein-zwei Drinks компютри втора употребаtexas holdem poker online spielen oder wenn man ziemlich müde ist, weil in einem shorthandLa rueda de la online poker esta separada en 36 ranuras numeradas del 1 al 36. Spiel man weniger Zeit nachzudenken hat und unter größerem Druck handelt. worse over the next couple of weeks before it finally failed completely.  If you already are a pond parent, you understand that this is a pond “code blue!”  A replacement was required, and right away.  Our pond was constructed using an AquaScapes Designs kit, which came with an AquaScapes 3000 pump, and a 1 year warranty.  So, a trip to our local distributor and $425 later, we dropped another 3000 into the skimmer, and all was well.  Except for the chasm in our bank account.  Surely this was just misfortune.  A year and a half later, the familiar sound of a bearing going out was once again apparent.  And, again without warranty protection.  This time, I called our AquaScapes distributor, and was determined that we were going to pursue this with the manufacterer if necessary.  And, no way were we going with another 3000.  Our new best friend at Pro Ponds West, Moody, was very encouraging.  We were not the only ones who had issues with this pump.  In fact, he told us to bring it in and they would trade it out for what he assured me was a much better quality pump.  So, yesterday we dropped in our new Tsurumi.  It is more powerful, which can be seen in the waterfall flow.  The downside is the power requirement.  It uses 469 watts, while the 3000 used 300.  Good thing we have solar electric!  Thanks to Pro Ponds West in Costa Mesa, CA, and to Moody, who was not only helpful but also a really nice guy.

While herons may be beautiful (and protected) birds, they’re not so attractive when snacking on our “aqua kids”. After unsuccessful attempts with a koi decoy, alligator and fake heron, we finally found a solution for stopping those heartwrenching heron attacks ~ the Scarecrow by Contech.

This motion activated sprinkler is attached to your garden hose and bursts forth a powerfully effective blast when predators come near. No hazardous poisons, no harm done to any unwanted visitors.

The Scarecrow uses a 9 volt battery which lasts for 3000+ activations. We purchased ours at Green Thumb Nursery. They are also available online at safepetproducts.com.

There are a number of philosophies as to the best methods for keeping pond water clean and healthy. We would love to hear your experiences in this endeavor, and it can be grueling. From our perspective, here in South Orange County California, the use of chemicals is not necessary and does not, in fact, contribute to better living in the pond. As you always hear, your results may vary…

First, there is a difference between what is ideal and what is realistic, and healthy. Everyone wants to have a pond with crystal clear water and a pristine bottom with beautiful rock, etc. When we built our pond, we went to great lengths to arrange different colored rock along the sides and bottom. It was a thing of beauty indeed. And, it was visible for about as long as it took to place all of that beautiful rock. Now, after 3 years, it is mostly covered with fluffy algae of more or less thickness. The fish really like to munch on that stuff, but it doesn’t go away.

Also, on a nice sunny day, the water sometimes will experience an algae bloom, where the suspended algae reproduces and mirks up the water quite nicely. Not the most visually appealing, but certainly a sign of a healthy pond. Again, the fish don’t seem unhappy about it.

So, what is the problem? It’s a matter of aesthetics actually. One can go to great lengths to have clear water at all times, and that certainly is beautiful. Realistically, it is a lot of work and frustration, and it may not be the best habitat for fish and plants. Our pond has a primary and a secondary filter. At the collection point, the skimmer, there is a debris net and a filter mat. We find our water stays mostly very clear if we clean the debris net and rinse this filter mat each week. The suspended algae is thereby nicely managed without chemicals, UV lights or other additives.

String algae is a different challenge, and we rely mostly on manual removal, which can be a daily task part of the year. We all know how fast strings will grow if they are left unchecked. Barley logs and plants compete for oxygen, surely keeping the algae count lower than it may otherwise be, but if you have a well aerated pond, there is plenty of O2 to go around. In retrospect, we may have installed a UV light in the return line (if we had known about them), but we opt not to use “chemicals”. There are some natural additives with which we have had good luck from AquaScapes Designs. Find their link in our “Products” list (none of the products listed are ours, nor do we profit from their sales; we just like them). We occasionally use SAB as a water additive if the suspended algae count seems to defy our weekly rinse off. And, using their Eco-Blast on the waterfall rocks, from whence the string algae seeds, helps keep it controlled. We have read a couple of posts on Amazon from people who say these products killed their fish, and don’t know what to make of that, other than to be concerned that the directions were not followed exactly. NEVER add anything to the pond without knowing exactly the intended application and without following the directions precisely! If you don’t know the volume of your pond, a necessity when using these additives, figure it out! Don’t guess. Here is a link to help:

http://www.overthegardengate.net/garden/pondcalc.asp

In sum, we are happy, as are our aqua kids, with a relative state of water clarity. Not everyone would be.

So, what do you think?